Life's Too Short
by Copper's Mama
Summary: Alec/Max fic, takes place after "Some Assembly Required", but spoilers for "Hello Goodbye" as well. Alec takes Original Cindy's advice in regards to Max. Please read and review!


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_A Max/Alec fic. _

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_Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Dark Angel. I'm not that awesome. _

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_A/N: Well, I've been watching all the Alec episodes of season two, and I got the idea for this one after watching the scene in "Some Assembly Required", after Alec told Max he thought that Zack had the hots for her, and then he goes and sits with OC. I'm sure this kind of story has been done many times, but I thought I'd give it a shot. _

_I hope you guys like this, I know I'll love writing it. _

_As always, please read and review, I live for feedback! _

...

"What?" Alec asked, throwing a confused look at Original Cindy.

"Boy, you best stop trippin' and just admit you jealous over our boy," she told him.

Alec scoffed. "Dream on."

OC stared him down, not giving him an inch.

Alec sighed, glancing over to where he'd last seen her at the bar. "Look, whether I admit to it or not, nothing's gonna change. She pretty much hates me."

"That's 'cause you ain't never done a thing to help her that didn't help you in the long run," OC reminded him. "You want her to start seeing more than the self-serving smart-ass that you love to play, then start acting like someone she can depend on."

Alec looked down into the empty glass, considering the smaller girl's words. She might actually have a point, but he didn't think he could just flip a switch and stop being Max's punching bag ... life just didn't work like that. He glanced over his shoulder, peering at the bar. "How long does it take to get a pitcher of beer?"

Original Cindy followed his gaze, looking up and down the stretch of counter for her friend. "I don't see her anywhere."

Alec flickered his gaze through the crowd, finally seeing Zack making his way out the door. He stared at the exit for a few moments, thinking over the possibilities in his head. Max wouldn't just take off without a word ... well, she might ditch him, but not Cindy. He hadn't seen her leaving with Zack, so he began to run through his head the list of people that he knew of who might want to hurt Max.

_The Metal-Heads_, he thought immediately, remembering the girl who had told him that she knew what he was. After they'd taken Zack back from them, they must have gone running back to the ring-leader of the bunch, informing him of what had happened. Alec wondered why they would take Max instead of him, but he figured it was just opportunity if anything else.

"I gotta go," he told OC, dropping money on the table to pay for the drinks.

She grabbed his arm before he could take off, making him look at her. "Did something happen to my Boo?"

Alec looked at the door and then back at her, knowing he was losing time. "Maybe. But the longer I discuss this with you, the colder the trail gets." He pulled his arm away, but at the crestfallen expression on her face, he added, "I'll get her back."

OC nodded, watching him leave and hoping for the best.

...

Alec trailed Zack from a distance, waiting for him to track down the Metal-Heads so he could figure out what they wanted with Max. He maintained his distance, watching the X5 enter the ramshackle building. Alec scaled the side, finding an open window near the ceiling and sneaking his way in. He watched Zack take out the three of them and make his way back to where Max was handcuffed to a pipe.

Alec watched with a clenched jaw as his suspicions were confirmed, and Zack made a pass - several passes - at Max. X5-599 just didn't get it, didn't see that Max only thought of him as a brother, and eventually worked into his delusion that Logan was the reason behind their failed relationship. He left Max cuffed to the pipe and took off, presumably to kill Logan. He wondered if he should feel a little bit more upset about that but shook it off, swooping in to free Max.

"Dammit, Zack, don't do this!" Max yelled out, trying desperately to break free of her bonds.

"Quit yelling," Alec commented, moving through the door. "You're hurting my delicate ear-drums."

Max followed his movements with wide eyes. "Alec? What are you doing here?"

He grinned, bringing a hand up to examine the cuffs. "Saving the damsel in distress." He heard Max scoff, but before she could reply with a comment on how harshly she was going to kick his ass, he added, "I noticed you'd gone missing from Crash, figured out the Metal-Heads nabbed you, and followed Zack here. Now, you can rant at me some more, or we can get a move on and save your little freedom fighter." He couldn't make himself call Logan her boyfriend.

Max chewed on the bottom of her lip, swallowing her scathing remarks that came so easily to her and tried pulling on the cuffs again. "Ugh, they won't budge."

Alec nodded, moving around behind her. "Maybe it just needs more weight on it," he suggested. He could feel her body twitching as he wrapped his arms around her and slid his hands up next to hers, but she didn't say anything. He carefully covered her hands with his own, gripping the chain of the handcuffs.

"Ready?" he asked her, his voice soft in her ear.

Max nodded, though her voice remained silent.

Alec leaned back, adding more weight to the handcuffs to try and snap them. He could feel Max leaning back against him, pulling hard. Even though his mind should be focused on trying to get Max free so they could save Logan, he couldn't help but relish in the fact that he was there with her, her body flush against his, both of them working together without her trying to bite his head off. It was nice.

"One more pull," Max gritted out, clearly in pain from the strain on her wrists.

Alec nodded, using all the strength he possessed to tug on the metal, finally hearing it give way and snap.

Max fell back against him, and his lack of balance sent them both to the floor, her sprawled out on top of him.

"You okay?" he asked her, genuinely concerned.

Max nodded, slowly turning her head to look at him. "You?"

Alec considered the fact that she still hadn't pulled herself away from him, and then nodded as well. "I'm good."

"We gotta stop Zack," she informed him, finally hauling herself up, and after a moment's thought, held her hand out to him to help him up.

_Things are looking up,_ Alec thought, accepted the gesture. _Maybe Cindy was right._

...

They had managed to stop Zack from killing Logan, but it had come at a hefty price. Zack had lost his memory again, and the only way that they could see to stop the whole thing from happening again was to send him away with a new identity, pretending they'd never known him at all. It was the last thing Max wanted, but she didn't want to be faced with the choice of keeping or brother or getting Logan killed.

Several few weeks had passed, and the one thing on Max's wind was how weird Alec had been acting lately. He'd changed, or something ... he backed her up without her having to twist his arm, he did his Jam Pony runs without - to her knowledge - trying to case places to rob. It was like he was trying to assimilate or something.

Joshua had invited them over for one of his dinners, wanting some company and wanting to make a meal for them. He'd asked Max if she wanted to invite Logan, but with things being what they were, she thought it was best if she kept her distance from him for a while.

Max arrived last, due to Normal insisting she make a run to Sector 4 before she left for the evening. She wasn't late, but she hadn't had time to bring Joshua something to thank him for having her over. She walked up the steps and had her hand almost on the doorknob when it was suddenly opened. "Hey, Max," Alec greeted, stepping outside. "Josh, man, we'll just be a second."

"Okay, Alec," Joshua called back, doing something that sounded like setting the table.

"What's up?" Max asked, furrowing her brow at him as he pulled her away from the house.

Alec walked what he hoped was a safe distance before speaking in a voice that only transgenics could hear. "Don't freak out at what I'm about to tell you ... but Joshua brought a friend over for dinner."

Max's eyes widened, staring at the house. She barely remembered to speak in a low voice. "What do you mean? What friend?"

"Apparently he met a girl named Annie a little bit ago, and they hit it off," Alec answered. "Max ... she's blind. She can't see him, doesn't know what he is."

Max was still uneasy about the whole thing, not wanting anyone to get wind of what Joshua was and ring the alarm bells. Not to mention, she didn't want her Big Fella getting hurt.

"Can you just go with it, at least for tonight?" Alec asked her, lifting one hand to the base of her elbow. "He's happy, Max."

She looked up into his eyes, seeing the honesty and concern in them, and nodded her head. "Okay ... at least for tonight. But after that ..."

Alec nodded. "We'll see how it goes. So, apparently, he's a painter from Mantiocoro, France," he told her.

Max stared at him for a second, wondering if he was serious.

Alec bobbed his head with a slight smirk.

"Okay ..." Max spoke. "Do we have a back-story?"

Alec paused for a moment before sliding his hand against hers. "Apparently we're a couple that he met on the plane over here. We offered to help him get settled in, and he's currently renting the place he's in from us."

Max blinked. "For real?"

"Yep," Alec answered, dancing on the inside. "I dunno, I guess Joshua just pulled that one out of his ass," he deflected, not wanting to admit that he had been the one to come up with that particular tale.

Max nodded, wondering why Joshua would have chosen that story to tell the girl. "Okay. Well, I guess we should get in there."

Alec walked back to the house with her, hoping that Max wouldn't notice that - since Annie was blind - they didn't really need to be holding hands. They made it into the house, glancing around.

Max spotted Joshua standing next to the table, talking to the girl that much be Annie. Joshua's expression was one of hopeful worry, so Max made her way over to them, pulling Alec along with her. "You must be Annie," she greeted.

The smaller girl nodded, holding her hand out in the direction of Max's voice. "And you're Max?"

Max shook her hand, being as polite as she knew how. "That's me."

"You have a lovely home," Annie complimented when she got her hand back. "It's so nice that you've offered to let Joshua live in it while he's here."

Max glanced at her Big Fella, seeing how happy he was. "Oh, it was nothing. We're happy to have him." She started to move away from Alec to help Joshua with the rest of the food when a bark came from behind Joshua, and Max backed up a bit, taking Alec with her.

Bailey trotted out from where he'd been sniffing Joshua, taking an interest in the other two.

"Whoa, there!" Max spoke hurriedly, unconsciously gripping Alec's hand tighter.

Alec wasn't exactly crazy about dogs either, but he'd had a little more time to get used to Bailey. He wasn't complaining at all that Max was pressed against him, wanting - whether she realized it or not - him to comfort and protect her.

"Are you okay?" Annie asked. "He didn't mean to startle you. He just gets excited around Joshua, that's all."

Max forced herself to calm down, staring warily and the furry canine and its wagging tail.

Alec saved her from having to come up with an explanation for her behavior. "Sorry, Annie. We're really just more cat people ... nothing against Bailey."

Annie nodded in understanding. "It's okay."

Joshua attempted to break the tension, stating, "Dinner is finished."

...

Mac 'N Cheese ... Joshua's specialty.

"This is wonderful, Joshua." Annie told him, enjoying the meal.

"Thank you, Annie," Joshua replied, blushing to himself. "I'm glad you like it."

Max smiled, sharing a secret glance with Alec. Joshua's dinner was great, but they didn't appreciate it with quite as much ... enthusiasm.

"Yeah, this is great, Josh," Alec agreed with a grin. "Did you do something different?"

Joshua shrugged. "I added more pepper than last time."

Alec nodded. "Yep. That's what it is. Good move."

Silence fell over the table again while they continued filling their stomachs.

"So, Max, what do you do?" Annie asked. "I was talking to Alec earlier, and he said you two reconnected when he got a job where you work, but I didn't get the chance to ask where."

Mac glanced at Alec's suddenly stoic face before replying, "We're bike messengers at Jam Pony. Not exactly glamorous, but it pays the bills."

"And feeds the _cat_," Alec joked.

"That must be fun," Annie commented. "I mean, you must get to go all over the city every day. Meet all sorts of interesting people."

Max made a face, but nodded. "Well, it's refreshing that someone still sees things as glass half-full."

Annie shrugged her shoulders delicately. "I don't know ... I guess life is just too short to be a pessimist. I've learned not to take anything for granted," she confessed. With a smile, she added, "Like sharing a home-cooked meal with new friends."

Max smiled softly at that, glancing beside her to see Alec looking at her. She asked herself if she took him for granted, unsurprised that her brain immediately screamed, 'Hell yes!'. She blinked her eyelids slowly, and after a moment's hesitation she carefully reached her hand over to slide next to Alec's. When he accepted the gesture, Mac thought that Annie was right about another thing: life was short. So why waste her time with something that was never gonna be, and just listen to what her heart was telling her?

...

The three of them walked Annie home, Max staying clear of Bailey while making sure that no one got a close look at Joshua. Alec and Max hung back while they said their goodbyes, giving them their space. With their genetically empowered hearing, Alec and Max could hear the soft voices of the other two at the front door, thanking each other for a lovely evening.

Max dug her hands into her pockets, turning her head away from the house and glancing up and down the street.

"So ..." Alec began uncertainly. "Tonight was fun, right?"

Max nodded her head, looking down at the ground, seemingly lost in thought.

"It might be fun to try it again sometime," he continued.

Max rolled her eyes in humor as she looked away from him, wondering how long it would take for him to get the words out.

"You know ... if Joshua wanted to have us over again. And if he didn't, we could just, you know, go grab some -"

Max had enough, turning and grabbing the collar of his shirt. Before he could so much as blink, Max planted one on him, stealing his unspoken words from his poised-open mouth.

Alec was shell-shocked for a half-second, but when he realized that Max was kissing him - actually _kissing_ him - his body woke back up and he crushed her to him with fervent passion.

Both of them would have been happy for the kiss to never end, but some time later a cough spurted out from beside them, and they turned their heads to see Joshua staring at them expectantly.

"Alec and Max together now? That's the plan?" he wanted to know.

Max looked away, glancing up the street. "Let's get you home, Big Fella. It's past your bedtime."

Joshua rolled his eyes with a smile, heading back to the house.

Alec and Max caught up to him, following along beside. Max pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, glancing over at Alec to see him beaming uncontrollably. "What?" she asked.

Alec grinned even wider. "Nothing."

Max nudged him with her elbow, holding back her own grin. She wouldn't let him enjoy the moment too much ... not just yet.

...

_The end. _

_So, what did you guys think? I thought of adding a bit of smut into it, but I liked this ending better. The idea of the possibilities was more appealing to me than the conclusion ... or should I say climax? Ah, see, there I go getting smutty again ... _

_Anywhoo, I hope you guys liked it. _

_Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful. _

_Until next time ...! _


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